One thing I'd consider when choosing a new light is your fellow cavers- that Olilight looks like a nightmare- notice the hot-spot in all the pictures, that's what your companions will be looking at. I picked up some of the cheap lights on amazon that use the rechargeable lithium 18650 batteries, they're nice and bright, good for taking pictures in larger spaces but turned out not very practical for most caving as they are too bright and can be blinding for both yourself and whoever you're caving with.So one feature I'd look for would be adjustable brightness. My old black diamond headlamp is pretty good in that department.

I'm a big fan of the Princeton Tec Apex. It has multiple beam settings, is waterproof, runs on AA batteries and has a lifetime warranty. AND they're relatively cheap compared to a lot of other headlamps.

I like the Princeton Tec (and anything that uses AAs that can be moved from camera to headlamp to handheld).Consider also the Zebra light. More expensive...but several beam intensities and is easily moved down toward your feet when you're on uneven floor or up high when you're checking out a domepit.

ohiocaver wrote:I like the Princeton Tec (and anything that uses AAs that can be moved from camera to headlamp to handheld).Consider also the Zebra light. More expensive...but several beam intensities and is easily moved down toward your feet when you're on uneven floor or up high when you're checking out a domepit.

A friend of mine has a Zebra wide angle light. It is very small, very bright, illuminates feet and a reasonable distance aheadand runs on the 18650 rechargeable batteries which are compact enough to carry a couple spares if necessary. There is alsoa Zebra for distance illumination. He has both mounted on his helmet. He says it is also good for cave photography. I'm considering buying the wide angle version to augment my Princeton Tec Apex.

For a headlamp, I find the Zebralight items to be perfect. Although they offer headlamps that run on smaller batteries, I find the 18650 batteries to be great. As was mentioned, there is the ability to press the button and step through the various intensity levels, so that allows for optimized battery usage. I generally carry a "straight" flashlight in my pocket that also uses 18650, so I can carry one or two spare batteries to cover either light. Another thing about Zebralight is that they offer different models for different light patterns and for different light temperatures. As an example, I always want my headlamp with a flood pattern, but I want the flashlight to have a spot pattern. Plus, I found one flashlight with a focusable beam, so it goes from flood to spot.